Sunday, August 10, 2014

Invited into the Storm

Sermon 14A – Matthew 14:22-33

St Alban’s in the Theater, Arlington, TX

Sometimes when I am scheduled to preach, I look at the
Gospel reading and think, “Oh Yay! I know this story!” but then as the week
goes on, I realize that maybe I know the story a little too well. I start to
feel as though everything I know about it has already been said by far better
preachers than I am. I realize that you all may have heard sermons on this
Gospel reading so many times that you could probably preach it yourselves. It
can look quite hopeless by Wednesday, if I haven’t decided on a direction yet.
So this week took a different turn. I do not know you all well as a group, but
I think – I hope – that I know you well enough to preach this sermon. It was
begging to be preached more specifically than I would usually do in a Supply
situation, but I hope what it spoke to me this week will be helpful to you.

This is a common story in our Gospels. So common in fact,
that this is the second time that the author of Matthew tells a version of it.
The first version had Jesus asleep on the boat when the storm blew in,
frightened disciples, Jesus showing command over the storm, “peace be still”
& “oh you of little faith,” and the disciples ending up confused, “what
kind of man is this?”

In Mark and John’s versions, Jesus walks on water, but not
Peter. John’s has a freaky magical ending, and Mark’s ends with the disciples
being confused with hardened hearts. Weird, right?! There is no version of this
story in Luke – maybe he though Matthew overdid it?

And then there is today’s version.Jesus makes them leave after the Feeding of
the 5,000 – pushes them onto the boat. Then he goes to pray – alone – that must
be important because it’s there twice – all alone. Later, he walksacross the water to catch up with the boat that
is now out in the middle, being tossed about with no sign of stars under the
cloud cover so they can get their bearings. Many are fisherman by trade, so I
assume they were not frightened yet, but surely they were very tired. They are
not afraid until they think they see a ghost – but Jesus assures them that he
is not a ghost. This is where Peter comes in – this is the only story with
Peter so I feel like what we are to learn may hinge on this. Let’s look at this
part closer.

Peter makes a curious statement “If it is you, command me to
come to you” and Jesus says “Come.”Curiouser and Curiouser as our friend Sheldon would say. “if it is you”
– how many times have you prayed that? I know I have prayed that a lot! Mine
usually sounds something more like “God, if this is your will – if this is how
you want to be to go” “If this is you…” right? Surely I’m not the only one.
This is the hard work of discernment friends. What is God calling us to do; is
this what Jesus would do?

And then: “Come.” Come on into the stormy water, come into
the buffeting waves, walk toward me in the rough seas, come on into the fierce
headwind. Jesus – my sweet, fair, lovely, always looking out for me savior,
says “Come.” The Jesus of my immature Christian life would’ve said, “Stay on
the safe ship with your friends. Stay where it’s dryer, and warmer. Stay where
it’s safe.” As I mature in my faith, I recognize this Jesus more and more – the
one who says “Come. It’s not always going to be easy. It’s not always going to
be comfortable, but my burden is easy and my yoke is light. Yes, there is a
burden and a yoke. Yes there is a storm, and cold water, and a strong wind and
rough seas. Come into the storm where you will find discomfort.”

If you remember, because I know you have heard this before,
Matthew was written to a devout Jewish community. A community who already
believed in God, but was not yet sure about who this Jesus guy was. The whole
Gospel of Matthew is story after story of proving who Jesus is. Now here’s a
tricky part. In Matthew’s time of writing, the Christian church was under great
persecution. It was not safe to be a Christian. Still isn’t – let’s keep Iraqi
& Syrian Christians high on our prayer list. Those Christians were being
killed then also. So Matthew writes this story – he’s the only one to write
this version with Peter that has Jesus calling Peter – the Rock of the Church –
into the storm. This story has many audiences: the disciples in the boat, the
people reading it in times of persecution, and us here today. How do we see
this story?Are there any faithful
Christians here undergoing hardship? Hmmmm.

“Oh you of little faith.” After wrestling and praying with
this Gospel this last week, I hear that statement said with great love – great
admiration. The hand is outstretched, the love shines in his eyes as he says
“Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? Here I am. I am with you always –
even in – maybe especially in the storms.” And in THIS version – the only one
like this – the disciples say, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

You are a community weathering a storm. The seas are rough,
the wind is strong and bites.I know you
are a faithful community, discerning God’s will as well as any of us can. I
know you are looking for where God is moving – looking for Jesus to walk by in
the rough water. And I know that you are mature enough to know that this is
temporary. You will find a faithful leader who will climb in this boat with you
and help navigate to the next place God is calling you. You are trying to
follow Jesus – and you are, simply by being here. You are a witness to God’s
love and justice. You are God’s Beloved People. It’s been a tough summer, but
you are still here. What is next, oh you of little faith? Will you stay
confused and harden your hearts as in Mark and the other story in Matthew, will
you wish for a magical ending like John gets? I hope not.

You are faithful disciples. You will continue to worship
Jesus, look for God working here in Arlington, and listen for the wind of the
Holy Spirit. You are in the midst of the storm, and I pray that when it has
calmed, you will not doubt God’s faithfulness to you and you will offer praise
for God’s outstretched hand as you are weathering this storm. Amen.

Hopefully this will post as an audio file on the right sidebar Podbean Player